Appendix G - Cultural Resources Survey

Due to the disturbed nature of the historical materials found located at CA-SLO-2796H and lack of clear association between the materials and the Japanese community center, the site does

Appendix - G Cultural Resources Survey

of the East Cherry Avenue

Specific Plan

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

CULTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY OF THE EAST CHERRY AVENUE SPECIFIC PLAN

June 2015

Prepared by:

Dustin K McKenzie, M.A., RPA and Terry L Joslin, Ph.D., RPA

Central Coast Archaeological Research Consultants

491 Lawrence Drive

San Luis Obispo, California 93401

Prepared for:

C.M Florence, ACIP Agent

Oasis Associates, Inc

3427 Miguelito Ct

San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

USGS Topographic Quadrangle: Arroyo Grande NE, 7.5-Minute (1965, Revised1993); Oceano 7.5-Minute

(1965, Revised 1979)

Project Size: 14.6 acres

Cultural Resource: CA-SLO-2796H (P-40-002796); Isolated Handstone ( P-40-038309)

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

This cultural resources study report was prepared at the request of C.M Florence, ACIP Agent, Oasis Associates, Inc for the East Cherry Avenue Specific Plan The study is located on the south side of East Cherry Avenue between Traffic Way and Pacific Coast Rail Road Place in Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo County, California and includes APNs 007-621-079 and 007-621-

001 The address is 490 East Cherry Avenue, Arroyo Grande, California, 93420 Oasis Associates, Inc

is preparing to submit permit applications to construct a residential and mixed use development on the approximately 14.6-acre undeveloped property

One historic resource and one isolated prehistoric artifact were newly identified during field studies The historic resource CA-SLO-2796H (P-40-002796) consists of a sparse scatter of historic glass, ceramics, and subsistence remains These materials may be related to the Japanese community center or Boy Scout hall that occupied the site until 2011 The Japanese community center was built

in the early 1930’s and was a focal point of Japanese-American cultural life in the Arroyo Grande Valley until the late 1960’s, at that time the structure was utilized as a Boy Scout hall The isolated prehistoric artifact is a handstone (P-40-038309), these types of artifacts were commonly used by indigenous peoples to process a variety of food substances

Due to the disturbed nature of the historical materials found located at CA-SLO-2796H and lack of clear association between the materials and the Japanese community center, the site does not meet the criteria for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources and does not constitute

a historical resource for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act The isolated handstone does not meet the requirements for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources and does not constitute a historical resource for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1

PROJECT CONTEXT 1

N ATURAL E NVIRONMENT 1

P REHISTORIC C ONTEXT 3

Paleoindian - Millingstone Period (10,000 to 5500 cal BP) 3

Early Period (5500 to 3000 cal BP) 3

Middle Period (3000 to 1000 cal BP) 4

Middle/Late Transition Period (1000 to 700 cal BP) 4

Late Period (700 cal BP to Historic) 5

E THNOGRAPHIC C ONTEXT 5

H ISTORIC C ONTEXT 6

RECORDS SEARCH 7

NATIVE AMERICAN CONSULTATION 8

FIELD METHODS 8

STUDY FINDINGS 10

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 11

REFERENCES CITED 13

A PPENDIX A: FIGURES 1–3

A PPENDIX B: SITE RECORDS

INTRODUCTION

Oasis Associates, Inc is preparing to submit permit applications to construct a residential development on a 14.6-acre property located south of the City of Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo County, California (Appendix A, Figures 1–3) The purpose of this cultural resources study is to identify and document prehistoric and historic resources that may occur within the proposed project area to assist with the preliminary project planning

The acreage within the study area is proposed for residential development consisting of 60 single family dwellings and a mixed use area that will include a Japanese cultural garden, a native California garden, a historic orchard, various structures, and parking The majority (13.1 acres) of the proposed project area is currently under cultivation, and the remaining 1.5 acres (owned by the Arroyo Grande Valley Japanese Welfare Association [AGJWA]) is currently being used by the Boy Scouts for boat storage The purpose of this study is to determine if there are cultural resources within the study area, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) of 1970, as amended, (Sections 21083.2 and 21084.1) and Sections 5020 through 5024 of the Public Resources Code which mandates public agencies to consider the effects of projects on historic properties These regulations require public agencies to identify the environmental impacts of proposed undertakings, determine if the impacts will be significant and identify alternatives and mitigation measures that will substantially reduce or eliminate significant impacts to the environment This study also adheres to the standards established by the San Luis Obispo County Department of Planning and Building, “A Guide to Archaeology and Historic Resources”

Project archaeologists are Dustin McKenzie and Terry Joslin Dustin McKenzie holds a B.A

in Anthropology from University of California, Santa Barbara and a M.A in Anthropology, Archaeology emphasis from the University of California, Santa Barbara He is also certified as a Register of Professional Archaeologist in prehistory with fifteen years of experience in archaeological research and cultural resources management Terry Joslin holds a B.S in Social Sciences-Cross Cultural Studies emphases from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and a M.A and Ph.D in Anthropology, Archaeology emphasis from the University of California, Santa Barbara She

is also certified as a Register of Professional Archaeologist in prehistory with twenty years of experience in archaeological research and cultural resources management

PROJECT CONTEXT

N ATURAL E NVIRONMENT

The survey area is located south of the historic village of Arroyo Grande on a flat portion of valley floor at the base of a prominent ridge that demarcates the southern edge of the Arroyo Grande Valley Arroyo Grande High School is located approximately 500 meters (m), or 1640 feet (ft) west

of the proposed project area The elevation of the proposed project site is approximately 35 m, or 115

ft above mean sea level (msl) (Oceano 7.5' minute quadrangle) Arroyo Grande Creek, a significant perennial drainage, is located approximately 400 m, or 1300 ft north of the survey area This water

system sustained a rich riparian ecosystem prior to the manipulation of the local hydrology of the Arroyo Grande Valley beginning in the 1880's (Bertrando and Bertrando 1998; Dvorsky 2010)

The survey area is on the Arroyo Grande Creek flood plain and soils in this area are comprised primarily of alluvial deposits placed there by periodic flooding events (Dvorsky 2010) The alluvial deposits have been measured to 40 m, or 130 ft below ground surface, however, the exact depth within the current study area is unknown (Chipping 1987) Chipping (1987) defines the top soils in this area as “…fine to course sand and gravel with sandy silt and clay that grades into sandy silt and clay south of the stream bed” The Monterey formation is the primary bedrock unit located in the surrounding area This geological unit is composed primarily of sandstones, shales and cherts (Bertrando and Bertrando 1998), and multiple shale and unmodified chert clasts were observed during the current survey

Arroyo Grande and the central California Coast are characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers Due to the moderating marine influence, seasonal temperature variability is minimal, with modest monthly mean temperatures fluctuating during a normal annual cycle Summer (15°−18° C) and winter (11°−13° C) daily temperatures vary around 10° C (Schoenherr 1995) Most of the annual precipitation occurs during the winter months between December and March The annual precipitation averages 46 cm (18 in), although above-average years have reached 89 cm (35 in) During summer months, coastal fog frequently blankets the coastline and provides modest moisture to plants

The marine and terrestrial environments in the vicinity of the proposed project are exceptionally productive Rocky intertidal and kelp bed habitats are located in San Luis Bay, northwest

of the project area, and nearshore sandy bottoms, estuarine, and pelagic waters are easily accessible to the west As mentioned above, Arroyo Grande Creek historically supported a thriving riparian

ecosystem which included seasonal runs of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) prior to the creation of the

Lopez Reservoir Damn (Swanson Hydrology and Geomorphology 2006) Terrestrial fauna attracted

to the rich riparian areas consist of animals such as elk, rabbit, deer, black bears, and various rodents such as mice, squirrels and gophers Resources include an array of estuarine, sandy-beach, rocky-shore, pelagic, and fresh-water fish species; a varied suite of sandy beach, open rocky coast, and estuarine adapted shellfish; several marine mammals including sea otters, sea lions, seals, dolphins and California gray whales; and a diverse assemblage of waterfowl and shore birds

Vegetation communities within the survey area have been significantly affected by agricultural practices and historic development Only domesticated row crops, such as parsley and lettuce, were identified within the 13.1 acers owned by Mangano Homes The 1.5 acre parcel owned by the AGVJWA contained Old World grasses, fruit trees, and a few native plant species including coast live

oak (Quercus agrifolia) and Mexican elderberry (Sambucus Mexicana) Remnant California sagebrush scrub

is located on the hill sides that border the project area to the south Species found in this area include

coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), California sage (Artemisia californica), and ample amounts of poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)

P REHISTORIC C ONTEXT

Along the central California coast a suite of similar cultural changes evident in the archaeological record, and often related to local and regional environmental changes, has framed the local chronology into six periods (Table 1; Jones et al 2007; King 1990) To understand cultural patterns pertinent to the study area, the chronological sequence is briefly discussed here with regard

to significant natural events and changes in behavioral strategies and technology reflected in subsistence and settlement patterns

Table 1 Chronological Sequence of the California Central Coast

Late 700 B.P – Historic A.D 1250 – 1769 Late

Middle/Late Transition 1000 – 700 cal BP A.D 1000 –1250 Late

Middle 3000 – 1000 cal BP 600 B.C – A.D.1000 Late

Early 5500 – 3000 cal BP 3500 – 600 B.C Middle

Millingstone 10,000 – 5500 cal BP 8000 – 3500 B.C Early

Paleoindian Pre–10,000 cal BP Pre–8000 B.C Early

Paleoindian - Millingstone Period (10,000 to 5500 cal BP)

Once considered an anomaly characterized only by projectile points in private collections (Bertrando 2004), the central coast now has a well defined continuity of human coastal and nearshore adaptations over the past 10,000 years, with hints of occupation as early as 12,000 to 13,000 years ago (Jones et al 2007; Jones et al 2008a, 2008b) As suggested by the abundance of millingstones and high density of shellfish remains, the collection and processing of seeds and shellfish were important economic pursuits during the early Holocene Except for interior locations, early Holocene sites along the central California Coast have components that contain shellfish assemblages that are dominated

by estuarine and rocky intertidal species and they contain a limited range of marine fish compared to later periods Significant information from the Cross Creek-Diablo Canyon complex has expanded our understanding of local central coast habitats Jones et al (2008a:195) suggest that by 10,000 years ago related, inter-dependant populations had distinctive settlement preferences, with inland people who made forays to the coast but specialized in hunting small game and collecting vegetal resources, and coastal inhabitants who exploited a wider variety of marine and terrestrial resources To date, at least six coastal and pericoastal sites have radiocarbon dates Millingstone Period, some which extend into the Paleoindian Period

Early Period (5500 to 3000 cal BP)

The diachronic continuity of artifact assemblages and local adaptations led Greenwood (1972) and later Jones (1993) to apply Rogers’s (1929) term “Hunting” Culture to Early, Middle, and Middle/Late Transition deposits along the central coast The rise of new technology, particularly large quantities of stemmed and notched projectile points, and adaptive changes entailing greater emphasis

on marine mammals and fish stimulated researchers to offer a range of explanations of cultural changes during this time Favorable climatic conditions may have stimulated population growth,

leading to subsistence intensification and giving rise to the adoption of mortars and pestles at the onset of the Early Period This explanation seems possible, as researchers have suggested that the earliest mortars and pestles were not necessarily used for acorns (Glassow 1996) Perhaps mortars and pestles were used to process small terrestrial animals, shellfish, pulpy plant parts, as well as minerals such as ochre Evidence of Early Period occupation on the central California Coast is extensive Site distribution and radiocarbon date frequencies suggest that people during this interval may have been one of fairly mobile populations (Erlandson 1997; Glassow 1997; Joslin 2010)

Middle Period (3000 to 1000 cal BP)

Diagnostic assemblages of the Middle Period consist of a wider range and density of artifact types Perhaps most significant is the innovation of the circular shell fishhook during this interval and

an increase in the use of net sinkers (Jones et al 2007), signaling an increased importance of marine fish Bone tools and ornaments are relatively abundant and include needles, pins, awls, strigils, whistles, spatulas, gorge hooks, and antler tines Based primarily on large samples of excavated material from two sites situated on the San Simeon Reef (CA-SLO-175 and SLO-267), Jones (2003) assigned these Middle Period artifacts to the Little Pico II Phase Along the north-central coast, many of the subsistence-settlement trends set in motion during the Early Period continue into the Middle Period, including an increased use of mortars and pestles, a great significant focus on small schooling fish and sea otters and a decreased dependence on shellfish (Jones and Ferneau 2002) Subsistence pursuits in general appear to reflect a broad-spectrum diet with distinct signs of local resource intensification over time

Middle/Late Transition Period (1000 to 700 cal BP)

Central California Coast populations experienced dramatic changes around the onset of the Middle/Late Transition, sometime after 1000 cal BP, evidenced in the increase use of arrow points, the disappearance of most stemmed points, and changes in bead types (Codding and Jones 2007; Jones

et al 2007:139) Along the San Luis Obispo Coast site frequencies decline during the Middle/Late Transition (Jones 1995, 2003; Jones and Ferneau 2002, Jones et al 2008c) Archaeological sites dating

to this interval are quite rare, limited to two known deposits along the San Simeon Reef: Arroyo de los Chinos (CA-SLO-273/274H) and Little Pico Creek (CA-SLO-175); consequently, our understanding of this interval is still unfolding Recent research at single-component sites located on the open coastline the Coon Creek site (CA-SLO-9), south of Estero Bay, and the Ravine Site (CA-SLO-2563) demonstrates that some sites were occupied during this interval and provides significant new information (Codding and Jones 2007; Codding et al 2009; Joslin 2010) In a synthesis of Morro Bay sites, Mikkelsen et al (2000) proposed that the productive estuary may have served as refugium during this period of environmental disruption Located just south of Morro Bay, the Coon Creek site was a year-round residential base, where people procured rocky intertidal fish, shellfish, marine birds, marine mammals, and small terrestrial mammals with stemmed points, small leaf-shaped arrow points, notched line sinkers and circular shell fishhooks (Codding and Jones 2007)

Late Period (700 cal BP to Historic)

Compared to the Hunting Culture sites, Late Period assemblages are easily distinguished by new patterns of technology, subsistence, and settlement Jones (1991) suggested that local populations along the coast recovered from the effects of the environmental changes during the Middle/Late Transition; however, they never returned to the maritime adaptations observed during the Middle Period This contradicts earlier interpretations by Greenwood (1972, 1978), who argued for a more socially complex population reliant on littoral resources The discovery of Late Period middens in Big Sur (Hildebrandt and Jones 1998; Wohlgemuth et al 2002), San Simeon Reef (Joslin 2006), and Morro Bay (Joslin and Bertrando 2000) have improved our understanding of this interval prior to Spanish contact with local Chumash communities

E THNOGRAPHIC C ONTEXT

At the time of Spanish contact speakers of the Obispeño language of the Chumash language family occupied the lands in the Arroyo Grande vicinity (Milliken and Johnson 2005:128, Figure 13) The project area is located south of the boundary of the Obispeño or Northern Chumash (to the south) and speakers of the putative Playano language and Salinan groups that resided to the north near Big Sur

Ethnohistorical populations along the northern San Luis Obispo Coast practiced a gathering-fishing economy similar to most areas of precontact coastal California, where groups occupied a wide range of microenvironments and employed a diverse array of material culture to acquire resources The division of labor for collecting and gathering these resources is generally expected to have followed general worldwide patterns of gender-specific tasks, in which women gathered, processed, and manufactured basketry and nets, and flake and bone tools, while men predominantly fished, hunted and manufactured associated procurement tools (Kroeber and Barrett 1960) The relative participation of men and women in various tasks associated with subsistence undoubtedly varied over the short term (e.g., in response to seasonal resource fluctuations) as well as over the long prehistory prior to contact All social group members, including children, probably collected shellfish and small intertidal fish, to varying degrees of dietary importance (Bird and Bird 2000) Fishing was also an activity that, although primarily ascribed to men, also may have been accomplished by women, children, and elderly members of the groups Nearshore netting and pole-poking presumably would be the focus of less mobile groups more tethered to land and a residential base, while male groups would have fished in the open sea locations

hunting-Spanish explorers’ descriptions of their encounters with Native Americans along the coast, including the number of individuals, village locations and whether or not they were abandoned villages and locations, and the activities in which people were engaged, provide key details about pre-contact settlement and subsistence systems (Jones 2003:30-33; Jones et al 2008a:2287-2289; Milliken and Johnson 2005) A detailed analysis of ethnohistoric information collected by the 1767-1770 Portolá expeditions on the distribution of Native populations shows clear patterns, notably a year-round presence on the coast by at least small groups over the course of seasons or multiple seasons (Jones

et al 2008a:2289)

H ISTORIC C ONTEXT (adapted from Bertrando and Bertrando 1998)

The old town portion of Arroyo Grande along Branch Street east of Highway 101, was once

a part of the Pismo Rancho The Pismo Rancho was granted to Jose Ortega on November 18, 1840 and transferred to Isaac Sparks in 1846 The Pismo Grant was later patented to Isaac Sparks on November 16, 1866 (Perez 1996) Today's boundaries for Arroyo Grande also takes in parts of three other historic Mexican Land Grant ranchos They include parts of the Ranchos Corral de Piedra to the north, Bolsa de Chamisal to the south and Santa Manuela to the east Some confusion exists in the local references regarding the Arroyo Grande Rancho which was granted to Zeferino Carlon in April 25, 1842 and later acquired by Carlon's son-in-law, Francis Ziba Branch

South and to the west of the old village of Arroyo Grande, was the Santa Manuela Rancho which was granted to Francis Branch on April 6, 1837 and later patented to him on August 22, 1868 Branch eventually expanded his land holdings from the Santa Manuela to include parts of the Pismo, Corral de Piedra and Bolsa de Chamisal land grants and owned all of the area of the town as well as having ocean and shipping access Francis Z Branch sold the willow and brush covered land in and around the town for $80 an acre The rich bottom land began to attract farmers and their families during the 1870s By the mid-l870s, the village businesses consisted of two hotels, two stores, two saloons, wagon and blacksmith shop, and a school (Cooper 1875) The settlement of Arroyo Grande grew again with the building of the Pismo Wharf and the Pacific Coast Railway access in 1881 The town was incorporated July 10, 1911 with a population of about twelve hundred residents

The first Japanese settlers arrived in the Arroyo Grande Valley around 1903 and continued to settle in the valley through the 1920s (SWCA 2010) A community of Issei (first generation) and Nisei (second generation) farmers developed a thriving agricultural industry initially focused on the cultivation of bush peas and poled beans Japanese farmers were the first to grow strawberries in the valley beginning in the early 1920’s and also introduced celery, bok choy, and Napa cabbage to the suite of local cultigens Japanese farmers in this area have banned together since the 1920’s to form grower associations including “The Strawberry Growers Association” and “Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange”, and these have blossomed into economic powerhouses in the local agricultural industry

The Japanese community of Arroyo Grande and Oceano was negatively impacted by relocation to internment camps during World War II Kay Fukuhara wrote of the incident

"…relocation of Japanese from the West Coast in 1941 created a catastrophe, which cannot be ignored, or left untold because it is a fact of history Farming operations by the Japanese people came

to an abrupt halt and mass evacuation of farmers and others took place Crops were left in the fields

as the farmers were rounded up with their families and shipped to internment camps” (Honeycutt ND) However, several Anglo families in the Arroyo Grande area looked after the Japanese farms, collecting rents, preventing damage, and applying the rents to taxes and mortgages (SWCA 2010) While reestablishing themselves after the war many Japanese families lived at the cultural center and Japanese language school buildings on Cherry Avenue in the Village of Arroyo Grande (Rock 2008)

RECORDS SEARCH

Archival research focused on primary and secondary sources to develop a general historic context and lot-specific information for the immediate project area To identify previously recorded archaeological and historical sites, Mr McKenzie acquired and reviewed archaeological site records, site location base maps, and cultural resources investigation reports on file at the Central Coast Information Center, University of California, Santa Barbara The in-house records search included information on all archaeological sites within a 0.5-mile radius of the current project area and previous cultural resource surveys conducted within a 0.25-mile radius In addition to this research effort, he consulted the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) via the National Register Information

Service (NRIS), the official on-line database of the NRHP; the California Inventory of Historic Resources (California 1976); and the California Historical Landmarks (California 1995)

At the time of the record search no cultural resources were recorded within the proposed project area However, seven archaeological sites are recorded within a 0.5-mile radius of the survey area Two of the sites are located within 100 meters, or 328 feet, from the proposed project area These two sites are CA-SLO-413 and CA-SLO-1206 CA-SLO-413 is recorded as a shell midden with

at least five bedrock mortars The site record indicates that one human burial was identified during the construction of a swimming pool within the site boundary Test excavations were conducted on a portion of CA-SLO-413 by Sawyer (1988a) The testing program included the excavation of ten auger holes Intact shell midden was found on a portion of this site to a depth of about 75 centimeters (cm) below the ground surface Radiocarbon dating of shell from one of the auger units produced ages of

3570 + 80 RYBP, from the 0-15 cm level, and 2840 + 90 RYBP, for the 75 to 77 cm level (Sawyer 1988a)

CA-SLO-1206 is recorded as a shell midden and scatter of flaking debris The significance of this site has not been evaluated through subsurface testing Although CA-SLO-1206 and SLO-413 are located near the proposed project area, no cultural remains associated with these sites were identified during this evaluation One historic property, the Arroyo Grande IOOF Hall, is listed on the National Register and is located within a 0.5-mile radius of the proposed project area

Six cultural resource surveys have been conducted within a 25-mile radius These surveys were predominately small-scale lot and property surveys in compliance with CEQA (e.g., Dills 1977; Gibson 1990; Sawyer 1988b) However, Whitley (1997) surveyed approximately 300 acres of the San Manuela Ridge, south of the current project area During this survey two previously recorded prehistoric sites (CA-SLO-413 and CA-SLO-1382) were observed Singer and Atwood (1990) conducted a survey of 67 acres west of highway 101 which resulted in the identification of no cultural resources Similarly, Conway (1999) did not identify cultural resources during a survey of Highway 101 and Traffic Way for the proposed construction of an overpass

NATIVE AMERICAN CONSULTATION

Consultation with the Northern Chumash community was conducted by calling individuals to explain the proposed project, and provide the results of the records search and field survey of the project area The list of interested Northern Chumash representatives included individuals and groups identified by the Native American Heritage Commission who have ancestral ties to the project area

Mona Olivas Tucker, representative of the yak tityu tityu - Northern Chumash Tribe, asked that the project area be inspected by a qualified archaeologist during the initial construction excavation phase

to confirm the absence of potential buried deposits Fred Collins, representative of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, also voiced concerns about the possibility of known sites in the area continuing into the proposed project He would like to have the location inspected by a qualified archaeologist and member of the Northern Chumash community during excavation of the residential housing project

FIELD METHODS

On 8 June 2015, Dustin McKenzie conducted an intensive survey of the acreage within APNs 007-621-079 AND 007-621-001 The location of the survey area is mapped on the attached USGS 7.5” topographic map, specific plan properties, and site plan (Figures 1 − 3) The survey areas Subarea

2 and Subarea 3 were walked in less than 10-meter transects Ground surface visibility was excellent, 80−100%, throughout the western portion of the survey area due to recent plowing and sparsely planted row crops Old World grasses and patches of dense vegetation reduced ground surface visibility to 50−80% in the eastern portion of the survey area Significant bioturbation, however; allowed for inspection of subsurface soils in this portion of the survey Surface soils across the survey area are predominately comprised of dark grayish brown silty loam (Munsell 10YR 4/2) with clasts of shale and unmodified Monterey chert Photographs 1 and 2 are representative of the context and environmental setting of the western and eastern portions of the study area, respectively

Photograph 1 Plowed fields in the western survey area East Cherry Avenue in Background

Photograph 2 Eastern portion survey area and location of CA-SLO-2796H (P-40-002796)

STUDY FINDINGS

The field investigation found no prehistoric archaeological sites located within the proposed project area One isolated prehistoric handstone fragment (P-40-038309 [Photograph 3]) was identified in the northwestern portion of the survey area between two rows of parsley Handstones, also referred to as manos, are common artifacts found in archaeological sites in central California They were used by Native Americans in conjunction with milling slabs (metates) to process a wide variety of food items including plants and animals (Jones et al 2007) Isolated artifacts, however, do not meet the requirements for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources and does not constitute a historical resources for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act

Photograph 3 Isolated Handstone P-40-038309

The survey also identify one new historic trash scatter that has been accessioned at the Central Coast Information Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as trinomial CA-SLO-2796H and primary number P-40-002796 This resource consists of a low density (less than 1 per m2 ) scatter

of domestic materials and food items commonly found at sites dating to the mid-20 century These materials include window glass, fragments of mason jars, and white porcelain plates and cups

(Photograph 4) Noted food items include Pismo clam (Tivela stultorum), saw cut beef bone, and one fragment of abalone shell (Haliotis sp.) It is possible that these items are associated with the Japanese

community center that was built on this parcel in 1932 The community center was used by the local Japanese community until the late 1960’s when it became a Boy Scout hall Unfortunately the building was destroyed by an intentionally started fire in 2011 The historical materials were located on the ground surface along with clearly modern refuse and the site appears disturbed by both grading activities and bioturbation As such, the association between the archaeological materials and the Japanese community center is tenuous at best

Photograph 4 Representative sample of historic and modern

Materials observed at SLO-2796H

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Archival research and an intensive archaeological survey of APNs 079 and

007-621-001 identified two cultural resources These include a scatter of historic domestic materials recorded

as CA-SLO-2796H (P-40-00279), and an isolated prehistoric handstone fragment (P-40-038309) Due the disturbed nature of the historical materials found located at CA-SLO-2796H, and lack of clear association between the materials and the Japanese community center, the site does not meet the criteria for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources and does not constitute historical resources for the purposes of CEQA Likewise, the isolated prehistoric handstone does not meet the criteria for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources and does not constitute historical resources for the purposes of CEQA

Due to the proximity of the proposed project to recorded archaeological sites, and the nature

of the native landform on a depositional surface, it is recommended that a qualified archaeologist and

a Northern Chumash intermittently monitor the project area during construction excavation Archaeological soils may have been buried by colluvium and alluvium, therefore covering a site that may not be visible on the modern ground surface In the unlikely event that buried cultural materials are encountered during construction, all ground disturbances will cease until a qualified archaeologist

is contacted to evaluate the nature, integrity, and significance of the deposit